Monday, January 5, 2015

"What Is Truth?"

Today my English teacher gave us an assignment. It's an assignment I've been thinking about all day long. He asked us to respond to the question "what is truth?" It's such a complex question and the answer to it can't really be right or wrong. The question can be answered in many ways. There is many aspects to the word truth and in order to answer the question you have to think of all aspects of the word. I decided to start with the most common thought that comes to mind when you hear the word truth. When people hear the word truth they normally think of lies. What have I not lied about today? Should I not lie to my teacher? When you hear truth you think of telling the truth. Being honest with someone and what comes along with that is trust. When you think of truth you think of trust. If you aren't truthful then people will never hold any trust with you.

On the flip side when I think of truth I think of innocence. I think of a young child who doesn't know any better but are the most honest and truthful people on the planet. Even when they get in trouble they may try to lie at first or deny it but in the end they always tell the truth. Children are the essence of innocence and they don't know right from wrong yet and are just learning about life. Therefore to them lying is like cursing they only see the truth in things and don't feel the need to hide them. Like when a child calls you ugly they don't see anything wrong with it because they feel they are just stating facts.

Truth is a hard thing to comprehend and in many situations we don't feel the need to be honest with people because either we are scared to hurt their feelings or maybe it isn't their truth to tell. We may know things about people and we might feel like it is our obligation to be honest about this person and tell the truth of who they really are but really it isn't ours to tell. People come out with the truth when they feel it is right and sometimes it's too late and it causes lots of problems. Sometimes people take their lies and truths to the grave never letting a soul know what was reality or fantasy. People are complicated creature and having the option between lies and truths is hell.

So to answer the question "what is truth?" I believe truth is lying. Truth is honesty and trust. Truth is innocence. Truth is a curse and a blessing. Truth is not for us to give or to take. Truth is complex and disturbing. Truth is as close to hell on earth as we can get because the truth hurts and the truth breaks hearts. Humans are humans and we make mistakes but having truths and lies is like caring around a loaded gun. You have to always be ready to be either shot down or shoot someone down.